The Palaces of Words (Palazzi di Parole), a project by Nicolo Quirico. See also this homage to the Fiat 500 at Quirico.com / the Guardian has an entertaining retro games Olympics on its website, shades of Konami’s Hyper Sports and … Continue reading →

Chuck Close responds to his critic and fan, which is itself a response to My Chuck Close problem. We must admit, our sympathies lie with Close. Scott Blake’s ‘Chuck Close Filter’ is clever stuff, for sure, but his principal argument … Continue reading →

The Archive of Modern Conflict issues a journal, collecting ‘material dating from prehistory to the present day. As the subject areas expand, they intertwine to reveal unexpected stories about the nature of our world.’ / Flying in and out of … Continue reading →

A marvellous riposte to an invitation to work the mechanics of UK healthcare from the inside at Muck. Sample: ‘I think the public has a vague idea about NHS privatisation, but they aren’t yet able to put a face to … Continue reading →

Portrait by August Sander, from Citizens of the Twentieth Century at The Great Leap Sideways (found via the Office for Urban Scenarios) / You’ll Never See My Face in Kansas City, an ‘artcore’ project that splices an Chris Burden performance … Continue reading →

The SV-1 SpiritVox is a mobile application that turns your smartphone into a “Ghost Box“, ‘a hand-held AM/FM radio that is modified to allow continuous scanning of every radio station at a rapid speed. The ghost box allows for tidbits … Continue reading →

We find music blog Rocket Remnants just as it signs off: ‘Five years ago, when I first began Rocket Remnants, music blogging was cool. Now it’s really in the hands of those posting new releases. The retro blogger, whether of … Continue reading →

The BBC World Service Auction is underway (with Phase 2 in September), with hundreds and hundreds of lots being taken out of Bush House, which the Corporation left yesterday. A treasure trove of old reel-to-reel recorders and nondescript office furniture, … Continue reading →

Peter Harrington’s The Cataloguer’s Desk is a blog devoted to rare books and printed ephemera, including these Thomas the Tank Engine model books and the first book on the Loch Ness Monster, Rupert T. Gould’s lavishly illustrated venture into pseudo-science … Continue reading →

The Northernmost Piano In The World, ‘located at Pyramiden, a Russian coal mine settlement located on the island of Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago.’ / Poul Webb begins an epic series of posts on the art and … Continue reading →

‘Design for converting the Crystal Palace into a tower 1,000 ft high! in commemoration of the World’s Fair and as a repository of science, art, manual and mechanical operations’. Thanks to Michael Robinson for pointing us in the direction of … Continue reading →

Further to our earlier post about the Secret History of Our Streets documentary, there’s been plenty of grumbling about the editing, focus and fundamental accuracy of the programme. Deptford Misc kicks off with an excoriating post, Secret History or A … Continue reading →

Bee Gees Rhythm Machine at Two Wheels Plus. Related, Daft Punk performed on the Casio SK5. More on the SK5 / an excellent collection of art and comics at Space in Text, including the marvellous work of Dan Berry / … Continue reading →